The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-06-03
EXPELLED FROM THE K. OF L.
Twenty-Five Members of Willetts As
sembly Summarily Dismissed.
Others To Be Punished for Refusing to Join
the Street-Car Drivers Strike-Trial
of Drivers by the Mayor.

The streetcar drivers strike afforded no new
features yesterday. Nearly all the cars are run
ming regularly with drivers The sixty
men who are still out have the privilege of going
back. but they say they will never return unless
they are provided with conductors and paid
cents more the hour. With the executive
committee of the district assembly, they are
still endeavoring to have the second-class men
desert tho cars, but they are not meeting with
much success. Two drivers gave up their cars
yesterday morning. They are both members OF
Henry George Assembly, and quit work
rather than risk being dismissed from the assem-
bly,. The members of the executive committee
say that a great many more of the drivers
against whom charges have been preferred will
quit work before they are brought to trial. All
that has been done toward getting them out of
the organization has been in preliminary way.
and if they obey the committee before brought
to trial the charges preferred will be withdrawn
Willetts Assembly met last night and expelled
twenty-five of it's members who refused to obey
the order to strike.
Although the company has succeeded in enls
ploying enough drivers to operate all its lines,
their service is very unsatisfactory. and they
are being kept only because no one else can be
secured. M..ny of them are drivers who were
tency and negligence and their work now is
better than it was then. People in all parts of
tho city who patronizing the lines complain
of the negligence of the drivers, of
whom have proven SO utterly inefi-
cient that they have been dismissed.
Yesterday morning James Moore an
old discharged driver. put II stockyards
Before he had made his first trip he began
drinking at the saloons along the line. and
when he started out the second time he
completely under the influence of liquor. At
the corner OF West and Morris streets he took
James Haley, who was also drunk on the car,
ana they were letting the mules go undriven,
and were having a glorious time back in the car.
when the officers overlook them and sent them
to the station house.
The fifteen drivers arrested for failing to call
the streets to have been tried yesterday
morning, but the attorneys for the company had
been misnformed as to the date and were not
ready for trial. However a few of the drivers
were present. and Mayor Denny decided that
they would be tried John Duncan called
upon by the company to defend the men, Milton
Lowe was placed on trial first His plea was
that he did not know the names of the streets.
Robert Trittefo was next called up for trial. Mr..
S. L. Morrison testified that the defendant called
the street at the time specified in the affidavit,
and as the States witnesses were not present,
the was continued until to-day. The aff-
davit against Joseph Shinwell bore the name of
William O'Brien. At the time mentioned In it.
O'Brien was in the car on his way to the station
house with Patrolman Shafer for not putting his
fare in the box. The drivers defense was that
he knew the were their way to the sta
ton house. and he did not deem it necessary to
call the street. The Mayor took the case under
advisement. None of the other drivers
ready for trial, and their cases continued
until to day.
The drivers were considerably annoye again
last night, but acts of violence were reported.
On South Meridian street quite a crowd con-
gregated, and in order to prevent any trouble
Superintendent Travis ordered couple of pa
trolmen to guard the track. The turn tables at
the end of the lines constantly being tam
pered with, and the police have instructions to
keep close watch them. AS usual. the
cars on the lines running the western and
southern suburbs of the city were taken off at
early hour
The last car on the Virginia avenue line left
the transfer with two passengers, at IL o'clock.
In front of the avenue rink a bowlder threw it
from the track. and the driver imagining that
he was going to be roughly handled, grabbed his
moneybox and deserted the The two
passengers got the back the track and
drove it to the end of the line and back far as
the No. engine house. From there the police
were informed by telephone about the trouble,
and Turnkey Stout notified the road officers.
There is some probability that the attention
attracted TO the clty's unsatisfactory streetcar
facilities will bring competitor with the John
sons into the field, a company that is engaged in
constructing cable lines having written to this
city for information about the strset-car bust
ness, with view to coming here and starting
ma line